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Kathy Pigott of Roseland, left, and Suzanne Pennell of West Orange organized the effort to send 165 holiday packages to members of the U.S. military. They hold letters to the troops from school classes and individuals.

Volunteers pack holiday boxes for the troops

Volunteers pack boxes to be sent to U.S. troops on Thursday, Dec. 6 in the Roseland First Aid Squad building.

Kathy Pigott of Roseland, left, and Suzanne Pennell of West Orange organized the effort to send 165 holiday packages to members of the U.S. military. They hold letters to the troops from school classes and individuals.

A thank-you letter sent to be included in a package.

Michael Boettinger of Roseland tapes up a box. He was in the Army National Guard for 17 years and spent two different Christmases in Iraq.

Aydan Sorrentino of Roseland, a seventh grader at West Essex Middle School, packs a box for the troops. He spent $20 that he earned walking dogs to buy items to include in the packages.

Madison Viana, left, and Alyssa Giuca of Girl Scout Juniors Troop 6184 of East Hanover pack boxes for the troops on the floor of the Roseland First Aid Squad building Thursday, Dec. 6.

Volunteers pose for a photo. They were helping to pack holiday boxes for the troops Thursday, Dec. 6 at the Roseland First Aid Squad building.

Kathy Pigott, a Roseland resident who started the project soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said 165 boxes were mailed to those serving around the world on Friday, Dec. 7.

That was more than three times the number sent last year, said Pigott, pointing out that the Roseland Volunteer Fire Department provided “the balance of postage that we were short.” “They wanted to ensure that every box made it to a soldier.”

The post office in Essex Fells opened an hour early Friday, Dec. 7 to process the boxes, all going to members of the U.S. military with connections to this area of New Jersey, Pigott said. The Roseland Department of Public Works delivered the boxes to the post office.

Suzanne Pennell of West Orange, who merged a similar effort she was involved in with Pigott’s about five years ago, said, “It’s just a wonderful effort to share some holiday spirit with our troops.”

Items to be included in the boxes came from as far away as Tennessee, Florida and Utah, said Pigott, who spread the word on social media and asked people to provide names and addresses of troops to receive them. Many people also sent money to pay for shipping the packages, which cost $17.40 for military addresses and $18.90 for other addresses.

School groups and individuals sent left-over Halloween candy, packaged food, toiletries, and letters and cards to be included in the boxes.

Eleven members of Girl Scout Juniors Troop 6184 in East Hanover came to the First Aid Squad building Thursday afternoon to help put together the packages. Troop leader Linda DiGrazio said the Scouts do a service project every year near the holidays, such as singing carols or doing crafts at nursing homes.

“This year, the girls wanted to help and give back in other ways,” she said, adding that they saw the request for volunteers on Facebook.

“We all donated items, and the girls had a wonderful experience of helping out and they all truly enjoyed it.”

Other volunteers included sixth-grade honor students from Noecker School in Roseland, students enrolled in the adult program at West Orange High School, members of the Roseland police and fire departments, and various Scout troops as well as local residents.

Aydan Sorrentino of Roseland, a seventh grader at West Essex Middle School, said he spent $20 that he earned walking a dog on items to include in the packages. He bought jumbo packs of Cup Noodles, which he likes, as well as toiletries, such as toothpaste and toothbrushes.

“I wanted to do something to help people. I wanted to give it to people who serve this country,” he said, noting that his mother matched the amounts he and his brother saved.

Michael Boettinger of Roseland, a lieutenant in the borough’s fire department, said he helped arrange for Pigott to use the First Aid Squad’s community room for the project this year. It had outgrown a classroom at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church in Roseland, which volunteers had used for about four years.

They moved the project to the church after outgrowing her home, said Pigott, who recalled that she and her daughter sent three boxes the first year.

“It seems so odd that this huge collection all started 17 years ago when my daughter, Nicole, and I wanted to do something for our troops after 911,” Pigott said. “I never thought that it would be this wonderful, and I’m so thankful. Every year, it grows by leaps and bounds.”

Boettinger said he had been at the First Aid Squad building since 7 a.m. Thursday and planned to stay until all the work was done. Volunteers were scheduled to do the packing from noon to 7 p.m.

Boettinger served in the Army National Guard for 17 1/2 years and was deployed to Iraq twice, in 2003 and 2005, spending two different Christmases there.

He said it was great to receive packages from his family but those that he got from strangers meant even more. “Because it’s you guys saying to me, ‘Hey, we love and respect what you’re doing.’ “

Pennell said one of the packages was going to her son, Dylan, 22, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in May. He is an ensign stationed on a destroyer out of the naval base at Pearl Harbor.

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